Cayde Sanchez
Cayde Sanchez is a gunslinger, pseudomythic character, paranormal investigator, vampire hunter, and demonologist, and a member of the First Playthrough Party. Though much controversy exists over his origins, it is believed that they are overall over-embellished but more or less true. Early life Sanchez was born to Esteban Guerrero Sanchez and Maria San Anton Sanchez, a prominent couple in the Tijuana high society scene, on the same day that they were both lynched, reportedly for witchcraft. As a letter from an eyewitness, dated November 1, 1876, puts it; "Era diferente a todo lo que había visto alguna vez. La bruja y su esposo ya estaban muertos, azules, quietos, y colgando del Árbol Asesino. Apenas el cuerpo de la bruja se había quedado quieto cuando algo cayó de ella. Era un niño pequeño, que fue llevado a la iglesia y, polémicamente, bautizado. Los hombres santos llamaron al chico 'Cayde', un nombre en inglés que significa 'redondo', porque salió el bebé más grande que jamás hayas visto." Or, translated to English; "It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The witch and her husband were already dead, blue, still, and hanging from the Killing Tree. Barely had the witch's body gone still when something dropped from her. It was an infant boy, which was taken to the church and, controversially, christened. The holy men called the boy 'Cayde', an English name meaning 'round', for he came out the plumpest babe you ever saw." Sanchez lived at the church, being cared for by the clergy, until he was one year old. At this time, he was adopted by a young couple, who neglected the child and used him purely for social status. He was primarily cared for by his nanny up through his eighth birthday, after which he primarily cared for himself. He taught himself to read and write, both Spanish and English, and was trained to use a pistol by the local militia. Death of adoptive parents and early days of vampire hunting In 1888, Sanchez's adoptive parents were murdered in brutal fashion. They were both restrained alive, and drained of their blood through two puncture wounds on their jugulars, dying of blood loss. Sanchez, then twelve years old, believed their deaths to be the work of vampires. He conscripted with the Catholic church as an exorcist and began studying demonology. Sanchez claims that his adopted parents returned in vampire form to attack him and recruit him to an "unholy army", and that he was forced to kill them using a small silver dagger. International renown In 1892, Sanchez emigrated to the United States and traveled to the East Coast to study the so-called Jersey Devil. During this time, he was contacted by the police department of Exeter, Rhode Island, to investigate the Brown Family Vampire. The Brown Family had several members die in a short time span of consumption, and the family blamed it on a vampire. Sanchez instructed the Exeter Police to exhume the bodies of each deceased family member, and, seeing that the body of second-oldest daughter Mercy Brown had not decomposed at all in the three months since her death, Sanchez concluded that she was a vampire. With the help of the family doctor, Sanchez removed Mercy's heart and incinerated it. He then fed a portion of the ashes to Brown's younger brother, Edwin Brown, who was beginning to exhibit signs of consumption. Brown appeared to take a turn for the better, and the family's reported vampire visits stopped, and Sanchez was briefly a renowned demonologist. However, in early 1893, Edwin Brown became sick and died anyways at the age of 13. Sanchez traveled the United States for some time further, performing exorcisms and fighting various purported supernatural beings. He became well-known for his weapon of choice, a double-barreled Howdah pistol which could shoot either lead or silver bullets. In 1901, Sanchez was involved in a ghost-hunt in Austin, Texas, which received some minor publicity. Arrest and conscription On June 15, 1901, Sanchez was arrested and convicted of manslaughter after opening fire on Lenford Kemp and Gib Herbert in a tavern in Austin, Texas, and inadvertently killing a bystander in the ensuing shootout. He was conscripted to the 112th Volunteer Infantry and deployed to the Mexican-American border to serve in the ongoing border conflict. While serving at the border, Cayde was involved in an altercation that almost lead to a skirmish between Mexican and American forces. Later, he was involved in the arrest of a local bandit, Nat Jon Jephson, in Laredo during which damage was done to the city's freshly cobbled streets. The mayor cast the First Playthrough Party out of Laredo and they were sent to Galveston to help with the cleanup from the 1900 Hurricane. On July 4, 1901, Cayde Sanchez was present at the Houston Independence Day Parade when an anarchist made an attempt on US President William McKinley's life. In July of 1901, Cayde was conscripted to escort debonair W. Scott Haywood from Galveston to New Orleans. Separation from the First Playthrough Party and death During the sidequest "Bat Into Dodge", Cayde and Erik Clyde were appointed to accompany Bat Masterson back to Dodge City, Kansas from Denver, Colorado. The pair successfully returned Bat to Dodge, and set out northwest to meet back up with the party. The pair was last seen in rural Scott County, Kansas, before Cayde's body was found in a creek, torn apart and having suffered a fall. The fate of Erik Clyde is unknown. Cayde was 24 years old. His remains were buried in an unmarked grave in Scott County, in an un-owned area of land off the road roughly a mile from where they were discovered.